CAR NEWS

A full of surprises F1 GP in Singapore denied another victory to Verstappen (Red Bull). Sainz (Ferrari) led from lights out to the chequered flag as he managed the race to secure the second F1 win of his career by just 0.812 seconds from Norris (McLaren). He made no secret he helped the former teammate staying closer and allowing him to use DRS to fight back Russell (Mercedes) who seemed ready to pass them both in the last few laps. 

Russell at end not only wasn't able to pass them, but also crashed the car on the last turn of the race giving the third position to his teammate Hamilton. The seven time world champion also set the fastest lap, gaining an extra point for him and for the team. Fourth place for Leclerc (Ferrari), able to resist against Verstappen  who finished only fifth. Eighth position for his teammate Perez. Definitely not a good weekend for the Red Bulls. Next Sunday, race appointment in Suzuka, Japan.

Directed by Michael Mann and featuring the Hollywood star Adam Driver, "Ferrari" follows the life story of Enzo Ferrari centered around the tragic running of the 1957 Mille Miglia race;  won by the Ferrari legend Piero Taruffi, but indelibly scarred by the deaths of nine spectators after a crash involving Alfonso De Portago’s Ferrari, which also killed him and navigator Edmund Nelson. During the recent premiere in Venice the movie got a seven minute standing ovation.

The movie is due to be released in Usa on November 30, 2023, following the recent he world premiere in Venice. "Ferrari" will exclusively be playing in cinemas upon its release. Driver partners are Penélope Cruz, playing Ferrari’s wife Laura, Patrick Dempsey, Jack O’Connell, and Gabriel Leone.

FIA  President Mohammed Ben Sulayem has recently given an update based on the applications received from hopeful new F1 teams. The contract with  F1 stated that 12 teams are authorized to race in the Championship and  after 2012 the teams are only 10 of them. The Us new team Andretti  Cadillac Racing and the British Hitech team could be admitted with an  announcement ready to be made in the next few weeks. 

The Fia President has recently stated that the board has worked very hard on the different  letters of intents and now is time to make the final announcement. 

Saratoga Automobile Museum, close to Saratoga Springs, NY, which works to preserve and showcase automobiles and artifacts, will host the classic and contemporary car auction at the Saratoga Casino Hotel on Sept. 22/23. The auction is the museum's largest annual fundraiser. Over 200 vehicles are set to appear in the auction. 

This year's auction will feature a 1912 Ford Model T Tourabout, 2 Lamborghini Gallardos (2004, 2007), and a unique 1971 Ferrari 365 GTC/4, specially made for Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands. 

In an tv interview with Sky Sports F1, Ferrari F1 team principal Fred Vasseur has confirmed few days ago that the Ferrari car manufacturer is creating an all-electric hyper car. The Italian manufacturer is expected to release the car in 2026, the same year F1 itself is changing their regulations to feature a much more  electric-orientated car. According to CEO, Benedetto Vigna, 5% of Ferrari global sales is expected to be all-electric by 2026. 

It's said to feature four motors and boast over 1,000 horsepower, a "common" level of power in the all-electric hypercar world. 

The record breaking winning race from Verstappen (Red Bull) is not the real news about the Italian GP. The real news is Ferrari team fought  until the end, being able to finally reach the podium in Italy with Carlos Sainz, elected also driver of the day. After starting in pole position, Sainz was able to resist for 15 laps from the Verstappen assaults, and he tried also very hard to stay in front of Perez, the other Red Bull driver. 

Sainz showed the same ability at the end of the race when the teammate Leclerc tried to steal him the podium. Fifth place for Russell (Mercedes) and sixth place for Hamilton (also  Mercedes) despite 5 seconds of penalty after a contact with Piastri  (McLaren). 

A $30 million Ferrari set the record price during Monterey Car Week last week. The week saw sales for more than 1,200 cars sold over five auctions at Monterey and Pebble Beach reaching a total of $400.1 millions, the second highest ever. Bonhams sold a 1967 Ferrari 412P for $30.25 million, that is the fourth most expensive Ferrari ever sold. A 1964 Ferrari 250 LM (RM Sotheby's) was expected to sell for between $18 million and $20 million. But bids only reached $17 million, below the reserve.

Verstappen (Red Bull) tied the Sebastian Vettel record of 9 victories in  a row in a F1 championship after a chaotic Dutch GP. The GP was  characterized by heavy rain at the beginning of the race and and especially towards the end, with a red flag that stopped the race for  almost an hour. Alonso (Aston Martin) arrived second, third place for  Gasly (Alpine). Not so a positive weekend for the Ferrari team, at least  for Leclerc forced to retire due to some mechanical problems. 

Fifth  place instead for the Ferrari teammate Sainz. Hamilton (Mercedes)  arrived 6th after starting 13th. The other Mercedes driver, Russell, was forced to retire at the very end of the race.

At  the Monterey car's week auctions, RM Sotheby's was one of the auction company protagonist with the highly anticipated “The Lost & Found  Collection”. This assembly of blue-chip Ferraris, found in varying states of disrepair due to Hurricane Charley in 2004, captured the attention of all the Ferrari enthusiasts and collectors alike. The auction gained over $16.5 million, reflecting the undiminished appeal of these rare and treasured Ferraris. 

The event was an electrifying celebration of both the historical and aesthetic value of these iconic cars. The major pieces were a 1954 Ferrari 500 Mondial Spider Series I, which fetched an impressive $1,875,000, the eye-catching 1965 Ferrari 275 GTB/6C Alloy that went  for $3,305,000; bidders were entranced by the blend of rarity and mystique that surrounded these automobiles.

A 1937 Mercedes Benz 540k special roadster was the chosen one as the best in show for this year at the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance. The  owner of the vehicle was from Louisville, Kentucky. McPherson College’s 1953 Mercedes-Benz 300S Cabriolet secured second in class. The vintage car – entirely restored by the students of the college’s Automotive Restoration program – won second in class for the Postwar Luxury category. 

This marks the first time in Concours history that an entirely student-restored car has ranked in the top three in class. The  Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance is the oldest Concours in the United States and widely considered the most prestigious car show in the world. Thousands of applicants vie for a spot at the Concours, with just 200 cars being invited to compete from around the world. 

Monterey cars week has just started and the expectations are already very high for the incoming auctions. A Ferrari Majestic 412 P Berlinetta racer will be on auction on August the 18th at Bonham’s Quail Auction. Not only is the speed machine quite possibly the most beautiful prototype racer ever built, but it also helped Italian marque claim the World Championship of Makes in 1967. This example chassis 0854 was the second of the original 412 P Berlinettas that rolled off the line at Maranello.

Following the experts, this car could reach one of the highest auction sale. 

Italian newspapers widely reported Mercedes driver and 7 times F1 world champion Lewis Hamilton had been contacted personally by Ferrari  president John Elkann in the last weeks. Previously also some British outlets insisted  that Ferrari were offering a more than $40m deal to prise Hamilton away  from Mercedes. Elkann the explained Hamilton “unfortunately” declined  the offer, “but it was a very polite ‘no thanks’…”. 

Elkann approached  personally Hamilton long time ago trying to build some very productive  talks with him. The agreement would have been effective from 2024. He could have been replaced either Leclerc or Sainz. For now however the  chances to see Hamilton in a red race suit are very little if not zero.

Do you want to be the owner of a Ferrari with some hidden rock music vibes? The old 1972 Ferrari of Keith Richards - the Rolling Stones guitarist - is now looking for a new owner, and priced at $500,000. Richards, now 79, drove the car more than 25,000 miles before the Ferrari Dino's keys were handed over to a private Japanese collector in 1980s. At the time the car was released, it would have cost around $7,055 to purchase, equivalent to $12,750 today. 

But now, the vintage fast car is expected to easily reach $500,000 at the incoming Monterey auctions. The body of the car is “Argento Metallizzato”, meaning metallic silver with the interior made with worn, black leather seats.

According  to some media, the F1 pilot Charles Leclerc could have reached an agreement with his team Ferrari with a new deal thanks to which he will be guaranteed for the 2025 and 2026 season with  the following three campaigns all included as options. If the deal goes the full five years, the contract Leclerc will be on is estimated to be worth around $198 millions, a new all-time record for F1. 

Performance bonuses could see this number vary but many media also report that  Leclerc has a clause in his deal that would allow him to leave at the  end of each season if he wishes and he could get $60 millions compensation in his final year.

The new movie “Ferrari” is set to close the 61st annual New York Film Festival. The sports biopic, starring Adam Driver as automotive mogul Enzo Ferrari, will make its North American premiere on October 13. The movie director is Michael Mann, also author of  “Heat” and “The Last of  the Mohicans”. 

The movie is an adaptation from the 1991 biography “The Man and the Machine” by Brock Yates. The film, which was shot on location in Ferrari’s hometown of Modena, dramatizes the life of the Italian entrepreneur and one-time Formula 1 racer at a professional and personal fulcrum. Shailene Woodley, Gabriel Leone, Patrick Dempsey and Jack O’Connell round out the cast.

Despite  starting from the sixth position, Verstappen (Red Bull) won his 8th consecutive race in a row, approaching very fast his third Championship, after the Sunday Belgian GP. Second place for the teammate Perez, third place for Leclerc (Ferrari), fastest lap and fourth place for Hamilton  (Mercedes) who is chasing the third place in the general standing, and now is just one point behind Alonso (Aston Martin). 

At the very start of  the race Sainz (Ferrari) and Piastri (McLaren) collided at the opening corner with damage for both and a consequence double DNF. On Saturday Verstappen won the sprint race, with Piastri second and Gasly (Alpine) third.

Ferrari will be protagonist at the incoming auctions during the Monterey cars week, but one particular car stands out from the pack. The car is a 1964 Ferrari 250 LM bearing chassis number 6053. It is the 22nd of the 32 Ferrari 250 LMs built in the early 1960s. The car was originally sold to British racing driver George Drummond, who primarily raced it around the U.K. but also took it to the 1966 24 Hours of Daytona and the 1968 24 Hours of Le Mans, as well as races in South Africa. 

According to its listing by RM Sotheby’s, the car was given a full restoration by the Ferrari Classiche classic car department as recently as 2021. Its estimate is between $18 million and $20 million.

Verstappen  (Red Bull) passed Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) on opening lap, claiming at the end of the race at the Hungary GP the seventh consecutive win and giving Red Bull record 12th win in a row. Norris (McLaren) finished second as Sergio Perez completed the podium after starting  ninth. Hamilton was fourth challenging Perez until the very end. Fifth place for Piastri (McLaren). 

Russell (Mercedes) made an excellent recovery from 18th on the grid to finish sixth, promoted a position after Leclerc (Ferrari) had to drop a place due to a five-second time penalty for speeding in the pit lane. Sainz (Ferrari) was unable to progress after a brilliant start and finished eighth. Ricciardo was 13th in his first race for AlphaTauri.

RM Sotheby’s upcoming Monterey auction - that will include a 2021 Ford GT Heritage Edition, a one-of-36 1950 Alfa Romeo 6C 2500 Super Sport Villa  d’Este Coupe by Touring and a 1955 Lancia Aurelia B20S GT Coupe Series 4  - will offer one of the most desirable car that will be offered this summer at the Californian cars week. It is the Steve McQueen’s 1967 Ferrari 275 GTB/4 by Scaglietti. The great actor bought the car brand new and kept it it for more than four years. 

Between 2010 e 2013 this beautiful Ferrari was completely restored to its original specification by Ferrari Classiche and now it’s again ready to change owner. 

KC23 is the latest creation from the Special Projects program is as innovative as it is striking, and has been commissioned by one of the  prancing horse’s most dedicated collectors. Its futuristic bespoke body  is underpinned by proven race car architecture, and with two different  configurations the visual character changes from angel to devil car. Under the body is the technology of the 488 GT3 Evo 2020. 

The 488 GT3 is the  most successful track car in Maranello’s 76-year history, racking up over 530 victories and 119 championship wins, which isn’t a bad platform from which to construct the ultimate private Ferrari. Given the extreme nature of its V8 twin-turbo engine, chassis and suspension set-up, the KC23 has been designed exclusively for non-competitive track use as opposed to the road. 

Wearing a white F1 race overall, full of brands and sponsors, Brad Pitt joined Formula One's drivers on the grid in Silverstone for the national anthem ahead of the British Grand Prix. That was part a shooting opportunity  for his next movie. The film is being directed by Joe Kosinski, the same for "Top Gun: Maverick". Pitt and his co-star Damson Idris play drivers Sonny Hayes - a retired driver back on the circuit - and Joshua Pearce. 

The title of the movie, with a co-production from Lewis Hamilton and technical collaboration from Mercedes and Ferrari hasn’t been yet revealed. 

Verstappen (Red Bull) won again in Silverstone at the British GP, setting precious points towards his third championship title. The race was not so easy for him. Norris (McLaren) jumped in front of him at the start and he managed to resist to the Dutch driver for 5 laps. After dueling with Verstappen, Norris then needed to defend his position from Hamilton (Mercedes), who finished third. Fourth place for the other McLaren driver, Piastri. Fifth place for Russell (Mercedes). 

It was definitely not a good day for the Ferrari team, with Leclerc and Sainz in ninth and tenth position despite good positions on the starting grid (they started fourth and fifth). The race was fulfilled with duels, even though at the end the different pit box strategies determined most of the results.  

The  F1 driver and two times world champion Fernando Alonso sold his Ferrari Enzo at an auction reaching an offer of $5,900,000. The Alonso car is well known among the Cavallino’s fans, as the ‘Scocca n.1‘, since it’s the first body manufactured of this model. This  car is also a very unique piece because of the particular features it has. The two times F1 world champion’s car has an interior package with technology derived from F1. 

The car has also a low mileage of just 3000 miles, and its production was limited to just 399 units. Alonso sold his Ferrari Enzo at the recently held Monaco Car Auctions.

Another victory for Verstappen (Red Bull) during the Austrian F1 GP and a completely dominance of the entire weekend by the dutch driver, winning also the sprint race on Saturday, and conquering both the poles. Good news from Ferrari, with Leclerc on second place and Sainz fourth (but then become sixth for additional penalties).

Great race for Perez (Red Bull) who started very behind and recovered a lot of positions. The Sunday race saw a lot of penalties (during and after the race) for many drivers for exceeding track limits. Driver of the day was Norris (McLaren) protagonist of many duels with Hamilton before and Sainz later. 

The Centenary edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans will forever have a special place in the annals of motorsport history as the first overall triumph for Ferrari in the legendary endurance event after 58 years, and after 50 years of absence at its first comeback race. For that reason last week, employees of the House of Maranello and the town's jubilant residents lined the streets outside the manufacturer's factory for a fitting celebration of  Ferrari-AF Corse's outstanding achievement. 

The winning F499 P car and the team, followed by the other car and the second team, paraded through the Maranello streets with thousands of jubilant residents and “tifosi”. The cars then entered in the Ferrari area factory for a second celebration with all the employees.

A rare 1968 Ferrari Dino 206 GT ia ready to auction in Monterey listed on Broad Arrow Auctions. Under the hood lies a mid-mounted 2.0-liter V6 engine. The exterior is finished in a captivating purple color shade. On the auction company website the car is listed for a price that could reach a final offer between $750,000 and $950,000. The experts though already pointed this car as one of the most iconic and interesting offer during the Monterey cars week.  

Many people wonder why buying a Ferrari vs, i.e., a Porsche. Ferrari is an investment, while Porsche is "only" a fantastic car. 

In 2022 Porsche delivered more than 300,000 cars. So far, Ferrari has produced a total of about 250,000 cars since 1947 (foundation date). Right now, the pace is about 10,000 cars per year, and in many occasions Ferrari underlined they don't want to increase this number. 

Basically, Porsche produces in one year much more than all the existing Ferraris (which are definitely less than the produced Ferraris). 

There are more Ferrari hopeful-buyers than available Ferraris. So, a Ferrari is an almost "unique" product, that could meaningfully increase value in the years, while you can buy a new Porsche whenever you like, "only" paying its price list. 

Canada celebrated another first place for the Red Bull pilot, Verstappen. Aston Martin with Alonso and Mercedes with Hamilton covered the second and the third position. The good news of the day for the  “Tifosi” is the return of Ferrari team with the fourth place of Leclerc and the fifth place of Sainz. A good pit stops strategy gave them the chance to safely recovery from the tenth and eleventh places on the starting grid.

Not a good Sunday for the other Mercedes pilot Russell, who crashed and after a partial return he was forced to retire five  lapses before the end. Despite the weather forecast and the previous wet days, the race was no impacted by the rain. 

Ferrari is back in Le Mans. "Veni, Vidi, Vici", Julius Caesar said. Ferrari too. After 50 years since its last "24 hours of Le Mans", Ferrari won the race in the overall ranking. Ferrari 499P number 51 with Alessandro Pier Guidi, Antonio Giovinazzi and James Calado saw the checkered flag of the centenary race about 1 minute before the Toyota and 2 minutes before the Cadillac. 

The other Ferrari number 50, with Antonio Fuoco, Miguel Molina and Nicklas Nielsen arrived fifth, despite a stone that broke the radiator (bad luck!), and force the car to a 10 minutes stop for fixing it. All the drivers were perfect during the 24 hours that forced cars, engines and teams to an incredible hard work. Ferrari 499P's victory made happy millions of Ferrari fans all over the world, and also the fortunate owners of "common" Ferrari 296, which share almost the same 2,992 cc V6 engine.

RM Sotheby’s will be auctioning one of the most incredibile Ferraris collection - a literary and legendary “lost and found collection" - without reserve, during Monterey Car Week in Aug. As you can imagine, it’s expected to fetch millions of dollars. While all the details can seem still a little bit hazy, RM Sotheby’s said the collection of 20 cars was originally housed in Florida and sat still since 1990. 

The cars were revealed from their hidden garage in 2004, when Hurricane Charley battered the Sunshine State and caused the barn where the cars were parked to partially collapse. The cars were all repaired after this in some high specialized center. RM Sotheby’s will be auctioning the collection, without reserve, during Monterey Car Week and it’s expected to fetch millions of dollars. Some cars raced historic appointments, others were owned by some royals.

The  codename is "F250," and Ferrari has already a test mule, even if the initial one, which means it's a mishmash of old and new body parts combined. The car already debuted on the Maranello streets. The quad square taillights appear to be borrowed from the SF90 Stradale. Experts say the V12 will make way for a downsized hybrid powertrain. Whether it will be  a V8 or a V6 is not known for now, but either way, expect over 1,000 horsepower thanks to at least one electric motor.

The world premiere is rumored to take place sometime next year, with the coupe to be followed later this decade by a Spider and a hardcore XX. The total production run is believed to amount to 828 cars, split into  599 coupes, 199 convertibles, and 30 XX.

Verstappen (Red Bull) won easily another GP, at the F1 circuit in Barcelona, Spain. The dutch champion crossed the line ahead of Hamilton and Russell (both Mercedes) in second and third respectively in a much-improved  showing for the Silver Arrows. Perez (Red Bull) and Sainz (Ferrari) were fourth and fifth, after the Red Bull driver failed to catch up with Russell in the dying stages of the race. 

Leclerc (Ferrari), started from the pit lane after a disastrous qualifying performance on Saturday, and at the end he had a race to forget and he finished 11th, with a not so clear tires strategy and despite he was on the first group of drivers at the middle of the race.

An incredible and rare car is on ready to change owner in the next days after Sotheby’s Sealed closed this special auction last week. The offer was about the very first prototype of the Ferrari 365 GTB/4 Daytona. Completed in early 1967, this prototype was the bridge between the 275 GTB/4 and 365 GTB/4. Powered by a completely unique 4.4-litre Tipo 243 V-12 engine and clothed in Pininfarina designed bodywork, it was used extensively for testing by Ferrari in 1967 before being sold privately.

The car is a “Ferrari Classiche” certified and previously also exhibited at Museo Ferrari for a while.  

Verstappen (Red Bull) drove a flawless race, going to win the F1 Monaco GP, even though the rain caused a chaotic situation after an  hour. Alonso (Aston Martin) arrived second and Ocon (Alpine Renault) gained the podium after an incredible qualification on Saturday. The Ferrari’s duo slipped behind the Mercedes duo, with Hamilton fourth at the checkered flag and one point more on the standings, thanks to the fastest lap. 

Most of the teams were forced to a double pit stops due to the heavy rain that suddenly started despite every forecast was just about a light rain. Next week racers and teams will be in Spain for the Spanish GP, at the circuit of Catalunya in Barcelona. 

Just  a couple of days after the Emilia-Romagna F1 GP in Imola was called off in light of severe flooding in the region, Ferrari and Formula 1 itself have both announced they'll donate €1 million to the relief effort. The money will go to the Agency for Territorial Safety and Civil Protection, and will be spent on boosting the area’s environmental recovery and help manage the ‘hydrogeological instability’ that’s contributed to the disaster so far. 

Due to the severe and extreme  flooding, more than ten people died and many different cities suffered  damages from the extreme weather conditions, with a significant stop  also for many local manufacturers.

Thousands of car enthusiasts were able to admire in Alexandria more than 100 supercars from the mid-1900s to the modern and contemporary era, at the fourth edition of Speed and Style. Among many others, it was possible to  admire rare and incredible supercars, racing cars and high performance vehicles. All of them were on display for all to see up-close.

F1 cancelled the Made in Italy F1 GP that would have taken place later this week in Imola, Italy, on Sunday. The event could be possibly rescheduled later this year (but this is not clear yet). This due to the extremely bad weather and rain that is hitting Emilia Romagna in Italy in these hours. The heavy rain that caused flooding in the area is extremely rare and possibly never happened in May in the past. 

Part of the track area is flooded (box basements and parking lots). In the area, highways, roads an trains are affected and circulation is extremely difficult. Major damages hit the entire region.  

Italian sports-car specialist Ferrari is now the eighth most valuable automotive company by market capitalization – the estimated worth of the firm according to stock market analysts. Among European car companies, Ferrari is the best-performing stock, with its shares having gained 34 per cent in 2023. Ferrari is currently in eighth position ahead of the Stellantis conglomerate, Ford, Honda, General Motors, and Hyundai. 

US electric-car specialist Tesla is the most valuable car company with Toyota – the largest automaker by sales – in second place, Porsche third. BYD, Mercedes-Benz, Volkswagen, and BMW are the following ones.

After  a start with Red Bull dominating pretty much all the races of the new F1 Championship, Mercedes and Ferrari announced that from the incoming race in Imola, Italy, there will be significant changes. The upgrades that Ferrari have planned for Imola are believed to be based around the rear suspension, in an attempt to improve Leclerc’s and Sainz’s tire wear, something they’ve struggled with in all the races and especially inn Miami. 

Supposedly, the Italians are set to “take inspiration from Red Bull” in order to develop a fix for their problems, as many F1 outlets are reporting.  

Ferrari’s first-ever SUV, the Purosangue, has seen an overwhelming demand, prompting the company to halt orders only two months after its unveiling in September 2022. Anyone who puts down an order today will have to wait until at least 2026 for delivery. This is partly due to the Italian automaker’s commitment that the $430,000 SUV will not exceed 20 percent of the brand’s shipments. 

During the earnings call, Ferrari announced a higher-than-anticipated rise in profits for the first quarter of 2023, with core earnings surging by 27 percent. As a result, the luxury carmaker’s share price on the Milan stock exchange hit a record high of €267.20 (about $297) on Thursday, marking a 5.6 percent increase. 

Verstappen (Red Bull) won a short race duel with teammate Perez at the F1 Miami Grand Prix and he secured the 2023 edition of the first of three US F1 GPs. The dutch driver completed a fine drive from P9 on the grid to take the win and extend his lead in the Drivers' Championship. Alonso (Aston  Martin) took another podium. Russell (Mercedes) took the fourth place, and Sainz (Ferrari) took fifth despite a five-second time penalty for speeding in the pit lane. 

Hamilton (Mercedes) recovered from his P13 grid start to take P6, ahead of Leclerc (Ferrari) who endured a tough race mostly stuck behind Haas' Magnussen. The day before the race, during the qualification, Leclerc crashed his car stopping the third part of the qualification. The result was a kind of weird start order, with Verstappen in ninth  position. All the experts predicted Verstappen would have been able to reach the first position around the 25th lap, but he took it in only 15 laps.  

Not only F1 weekend was a success for the Ferrari team with the double podium Saturday and Sunday for Leclerc in the sprint race and the regular race. It has been an unforgettable weekend in Baku also for the Ferrari  F2 team with for Bearman. He took his first Formula 2 pole, then he secured his first win in the sprint race e doubling on Sunday. Good news also form one of the hypercar team. 

The 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps, round three of the FIA WEC, ended with the Ferrari 499P crewed by Alessandro Pier Guidi, James Calado and  Antonio Giovinazzi securing its first podium in the Hypercar 2023  championship. 

Perez  (Red Bull) won the Azerbaijan F1 Grand Prix, gaining precious points into Verstappen's (Red Bull) points lead. The Mexican driver benefited from a Safety Car and built a healthy gap from Verstappen who ended second. Pole-sitter Leclerc (Ferrari) took a first podium of the season as third with Alonso (Aston Martin) fourth, Sainz (Ferrari) fifth and Hamilton (Mercedes) sixth. 

Fastest lap and extra  point for the other Mercedes driver, Russell, who decided to change his tires a lap before the end just for trying to catch extra points and not leaving them to Verstappen and the Red Bull team. Now, in the general  standing, the gap between Verstappen and Perez is only 6 points. 

At the moment it’s the most esteemed consignment in RM Sotheby’s Monterey lineup, in August of 2023. Steve McQueen was a former owner, and not only for that reason this 1967 Ferrari 275 GTB/4 is expected to be sold trade for a huge amount. RM Sotheby’s expects something in the $5 to $7 million range. No Ferrari 275 needs a celebrity connection to fetch big bucks at auction. 

However Hagerty’s top valuation for a completely pristine example of the exact same model without a celebrity connection is listed at $3.4 million. McQueen bought the car with its original gold paint coat while filming Bullitt, a classic 1968 thriller, with one the greatest car chase ever shot on film. 

Formula One is changing its own sprint race format for Baku, Austria, Belgium, Qatar, Austin's U.S., and Brazil Grand Prix. Formula One will feature a new sprint format starting from next weekend at the Azerbaijan. F1 is dropping Saturday's practice session, which usually precedes the sprint race, in favor of a standalone qualifying session for that event. Friday's qualifying session will now set the race for the Gran  Prix on Sunday. 

The outcome of the sprint race instead will not impact the Sunday race. The top eight finishers in the sprint race will  still receive points. The schedule of a sprint weekend will now run as  follows: on Friday, Practice and Qualifying. On Saturday: Sprint Qualifying and Sprint Race. On Sunday: Grand Prix.

Ferrari car company has a record order book for its models spanning into next years, Chairman John Elkann told this the sports car maker's shareholders on last Friday, according the Reuter news agency. Elkann said the Italian company's two latest models, the 296 GTS plug-in hybrid car and the four-seater Purosangue had boosted its product portfolio, "delivering a record number of orders well into 2024". 

Ferrari has promised a total of 15 new models between 2023 and 2026, including its first full-electric car, which Elkann reiterated on Friday is  expected in 2025.

The pole sitting Toyota crew’s GR010 HYBRID - and World Endurance Championship leader- headed the #50 Ferrari 499P of Nicklas Nielsen, Miguel Molina and Antonio Fuoco at the six hours race in Portimao, Portugal. United Autosports claimed a 1-2 finish in the LMP2 class after a tense fight with Prema Racing. Corvette Racing made it back-to-back wins in the GTE Am class as Nicky Catsburg held off a determined late assault from Alessio Rovera’s AF Corse Ferrari

Ferrari has formally filled and signed a petition to the Formula 1’s governing body - the FIA - asking for a review of Carlos Sainz’s penalty during  the Australian Grand Prix. Sainz was given a five-second time penalty in Melbourne for hitting and spinning Fernando Alonso right afyer a chaotic late restart after a red flag. 

The multiple crashes after this restart caused another red flag with just two laps left and meant the race ended after a single outlap behind the safety car, making Sainz’s five-second penalty extremely punishing, following the Ferrari team's opinion. He fell from fourth place to 12th, consigning Ferrari to a point-less finish as its other driver Charles Leclerc crashed out on the opening lap.

Its lack of performance compared to pace-setter Red Bull prompted Sainz to suggest at the Australian Grand Prix that Ferrari is in need of a direction change. But while there have been rumours in recent weeks that Ferrari was ready to embark on radical changes, including a shift of sidepod concept, such a move has been dismissed by team principal Fred  Vasseur. 

Instead, Vasseur says the team's plan is for three stages of upgrades over the next few months that he hopes will be enough to make a difference. Next test will be in Baku, in Azerbaijan at the end of April. 

Ferrari has officially suspended the F8 Tributo production. The convertible F8 Spider still lives on, though, so if you love convertible, you could always order one of those. Before the F8 Tributo was sent in pause, one customer managed to receive the only 2023 model in North America. There is one 2023 Ferrari F8 Tributo on this side of the Atlantic. 

There are plenty of other F8 Tributos from 2020 through 2022 in North America, but for the 2023 that will be an incredibly valuable gaining to collectors if the original owner want to sell it. The original price was around $300,000. Now this is just the starting point for a new level of price.

Verstappen (Red Bull) survived a chaotic race to emerge as the winner of the Australian Grand Prix ahead of Hamilton (Mercedes) and Alonso (Aston Martin). Following a race with three red flags, a lot of crashes, the race restarted with a final lap behind the safety car for most of the lap. Definetly a bad day for the Ferrari team with Leclerc out from the very first lap and then Sainz penalized for a contact with Alonso's car after the second restart. 

Russel (Mercedes) was leading the race for a while then he retired for engine failure.

A Ferrari F1-2000 Formula 1 race car driven by Michael Schumacher during his inaugural championship run for the Maranello team is heading to auction with RM Sotheby’s. More specifically, the Brazilian Grand Prix winning race car is being offered by way of a sealed auction from April 3-12. The Ferrari F1 -2000 is one of the most successful race car from Maranello and it is the one that gave popularity and victories to Schumacher as Ferrari pilot, after great years in Benetton. 

During the 17-race season in 2000, Schumacher managed to secure nine pole  positions and nine victories behind the wheel of the F1-2000. The prestigious history behind it, could play a role in easily making it an eight-figure car.

Ferrari 499P made its debut in the FIA World Endurance Championship - after 50 years of absence- finishing 3rd in the 1000 Miles of Sebring. Car number 50 driven to the finish line by Antonio Fuoco secured third, while the other Ferrari finished 7th with Alessandro Pier Guidi behind the wheel. For most of the race both 499Ps were the chief challengers in the battle with the two Toyota Hypercars. During the qualifications, Fuoco’s Ferrari 499P secured the Pole Position.

The new Ferrari Roma Spider presented last Thursday, is ready to replace the Portofino M in Ferrari's lineup as the company's entry-level drop top. It uses the same 612-hp twin-turbo V-8 and 2+2 seating layout, but in the Roma Spider the heavy folding hard top will be replaced by a lighter, more traditional and old school soft folding top. The Portofino M, still one of the most loved Ferrari, was an evolution of the Portofino, before called California and CaliforniaT. 

Its linage  goes all the way back to 2008, where the original California used a 4.3-liter naturally aspirated V-8 making 453 hp. Now Ferrari chose to change its own narrative, with this soft top edition on the Roma style car and a new price that will be slightly higher.   

Despite  starting from the 15th place on the grid, Verstappen (Red Bull) finished second only to his team mate Perez who easily won the Jeddah  F1 GP. Third place for Alonso (Aston Martin) after he was reinstated on the podium even if he was penalized with 10 seconds penalty to not serve correctly a previous penalty. In fourth and fifth place Russell (Mercedes) and Hamilton (Mercedes) able to recover from  the 8th starting place. 

Sixth and seventh place for Sainz and Leclerc  and their Ferrari. Alonso had already celebrated his podium number 100  when the FIA announced the new penalty. After few hours, the FIA  reinstated the 3rd place for the Spanish driver, after the Aston Martin  team asked for a review. In a first moment the stewards said Alonso not  served correctly the first 5 seconds penalty.  

*later replaced after stewards changed*. Despite starting from the 15th place on the grid, Verstappen (Red Bull) finished second only to his team Perez who easily won the Jeddah F1 GP. Third place for Russell (Mercedes) who was promoted from the fourth place after Alonso (Aston Martin) was penalized with 10 seconds penalty to not serve correctly a previous penalty. In fifth place Hamilton able to recover from the 8th place. Sixth and seventh place for Sainz and Leclerc and their Ferrari.

Alonso had already celebrated his podium number 100 when the FIA announced the new penalty. Before he picked up a five-second penalty for being out of position at the start, lining up to the left of his third grid slot. And not unlike Ocon, Alonso was investigated again for not serving his time penalty correctly during his only pitstop. After a lengthy delay, the FIA stewards concluded one of Alonso's mechanics was touching the car before the five-second penalty window was up.

After only one race, the F1 system is already under pressure, with many different teams busy with the research of new solutions to improve cars. Ferrari and Mercedes are making no mystery they are actively trying to change their cars to fill the gap between them and Red Bull and Aston Martin. To do this, they are also looking to find  the best engineers team. 

David Sanchez - head of aerodynamics - just  left the Ferrari and rumors have been going on about others Sanchez colleagues ready to work for Ferrari’s competitors. Fred Vasseur would be ready to call back Alex Cinelli, the famous Schumacher engineer, to reshape Ferrari team around him. 

 The wait is almost over. On Thursday Ferrari will present its new  car. The teaser - released few days ago - lasts just few second, and  shows leather details, carbon components and an elegant but always  sporty steering wheel. Experts are betting this will be the new Roma  spider. Speculations are it could also be a new version for the  Purosangue. Introducing a new Roma model, with a cabriolet version,  could complete the offer for the Roma serie, right now only with  hardtop. 

Rumors about a new version of the iconic Roma model are  spreading since last September when a similar car was road testing  during night time around Maranello. 

Amelia Island 2023 car week closed with a bunch of records. This 2023 has been - so far - the biggest year ever for the Amelia Island auctions, with $178M in sales, reaching and passing the 2016 record of $140M, and adding 50 millions more compare to the 2022 edition. The trend was already evident after Monterey last summer and more recently in Scottsdale, where the selling also run fast and high. 

Anyway, the Amelia record is remarkable for the high price of the offer, with some 12 percent of the vehicles carried an estimate of $1M or higher. The top sale of the week—and all year so far—was Gooding & Company’s 1962 250 GT SWB Ferrari California Spider that brought $18M. The price beats the Hagerty Price Guide’s condition #1 value, even factoring the premium collectors typically pay for side vents. 

Formula 1 world champion Max Verstappen won the first race of the year in Bahrain, dominating all race long during a Grand Prix that is unfortunate for Ferrari team and strong for Alonso and his Aston Martin. Despite Sergio Perez was immediately passed by Charles Leclerc’s Ferrari at the starting, the Ferrari driver was forced to retire for engine problems 16 laps before the end.  

Alonso conquered the third place, overtaking Hamilton (Mercedes) that anyway improved two positions from the start, and Sainz (Ferrari) who struggled to finish fourth. Difficult start for McLaren, with both drivers (Norris and Piastri) that did not finish the race. Good result for the rookie American drive Logan Sargeant who arrived 12th with Williams.

It's quite clear that Red Bull emerged as the favorite team from the Bahrain Formula 1 pre-season testing. For the Ferrari F1 team (and also for the Mercedes one) the 2023 could be another season chasing the Verstappen records. Charles Leclerc has admitted that Ferrari has still "work to do" to catch Red Bull and to keep Mercedes in distance, since the Hamilton team looked also good during the three day testing event. 

Ferrari Team Principal Frederic Vasseur says they are "overall happy" with the ground covered in Bahrain. In less than a week it will be already racing time. The season will start in Bahrain the first weekend of March.

Toto Wolff, F1 Mercedes team principal, is a huge cars collector. However he recently decided to cut some ties with one of his competitor F1 teams, selling one of the most precious piece of his collection, a Ferrari F40. The 1990 Ferrari F40 was listed for sale at Tom Hartley JNR  and has been sold quite immediately. The car only had 3,440 miles on it at the time of the sale and still has all original parts. The firm speculated that Wolff used the vehicle sparingly because of his day job.

A price was not listed before the sale. However similar models "typically are sold around $1.4 million to $1.7 million”. Experts’ speculations are that this one was sold closer to the higher end of that range due to its pristine condition and ties to the Mercedes F1 boss. 

It’s been a busy week about F1 car launches with McLaren, Aston Martin, Ferrari and Mercedes showing off their new cars. One area of interest has been the front wing design of Ferrari’s SF-23. The new car’s front wing was fitted with front wing slot gap separators that were similar to what was seen on Mercedes’ version at last season’s United States Grand Prix. Mercedes’ experimental new wing featured five enlarged slot gap separators, but was later asked to change it, which they did for Mexico.

Ferrari have gone down that design route, with a key change to the technical regulations allowing them to do so. 

Season five of Drive To Survive will  be released on February 24, 2023, and include never-before-seen footage and interviews from the greatest personalities on the Formula 1 grid. The new season will take fans behind the scenes to witness how drivers and teams prepared to go wheel-to-wheel over the 2022 Formula 1 season. The show will cover the 2022 season as Max Verstappen routed the competition to clinch his second world title in far less dramatic but no less impressive fashion than his first.

Drive to Survive has caused a global phenomenon: a surge of new fans to F1 and scores of casual viewers eagerly awaiting the next instalment of the smash-hit Netflix series. The wait is almost over. 

Enzo Ferrari was born on February 18th, 1898 ... but his birthday was officially on February 20th, because, people say, he was registered a couple of days later. 

On Tuesday February 14th, at 11.25 - Central European Time - in Maranello, Scuderia Ferrari will reveal its new car, which goes by the design code, 675 and now has its official name: SF-23. The launch will be broadcast live on Ferrari’s YouTube and TikTok channels and Scuderia Ferrari’s Facebook profile. For the Ferrari F1 team is the beginning of a new era, under the guidance of a new team principal. Frederic Vasseur replaced Mattia Binotto starting from January 2023. 

The rumors are the new SF-23 is one second faster than the 2022 car, the F1-75. The expectations are very high this year and there is no secret the goal is to conquer the championship after more than 15 years from the last titles.

Good news for Ferrari’s employees. According to a Bloomberg report, the Italian manufacturer is set to pay their workers a bonus of $14K for beating expectations on sales and profit last year, an increase of 12.5% on their 2021 reward. However the bonus is only for “normal” production, and F1 group won't receive the extras. The success of the road car business in 2022 was in contrast to Ferrari’s F1 operation, which despite returning to winning, last season failed to win the World Championship.

It’s going to be Ford vs Ferrari again, also in F1. The Ford Motor Company revealed it will be back in F1 starting in 2026. Ford will return to the sport with Red Bull Racing, after Red Bull made a lot of conversations with Porsche led to nothing. That team was originally Stewart Grand Prix but was bought by Ford and rebranded as Jaguar in 2000. Ford will also supply engines to the other team owned by Red Bull, the Italian-based Scuderia AlphaTauri. 

Ford's first foray into F1 began in 1967 when Colin Chapman, the head of Lotus, persuaded Ford to pay for the development of a new racing engine that would be a stressed part of the F1 chassis.

Ferrari on Thursday reported full-year profit up 13% year over year and guided to an even stronger year in 2023 on what its CEO called "persistently high demand" for the company's high-priced sports cars. For the full year, Ferrari earned 939 million euros, or 5.09 euros per share, on revenue of 5.095 billion euros. Both were above expectations: Wall Street analysts polled by Refinitiv had expected full-year earnings per share of 4.94 euros on revenue of 4.977 billion euros. 

It  has been a long and intense auction week in Scottsdale, Arizona. Hundreds of the world’s coolest collector cars rolled across auctions all over the city. The big-ticket items arrived on the blocks Friday and Saturday. Among many others, two Ferraris shined during the  last and most important auctions. The first is a 1989 Ferrari F40. It  started “with no reserve”, with no minimum offer and in few hours reached the final “winning” offer of $2,750,000. 

The second was a  magnificent 1967 Ferrari 275 GTB/4 Scaglietti sold for $3,360,000. The  top was anyway the sale of a 2014 Ferrari “LaFerrari” that reached a  final offer of $4,075,000.

After  almost 2,000 miles raced and 24 hours on the circuit, Tom Blomqvist dominated the final hour in the GTP class with the Meyer Shank Racing's  No. 60 Acura prototype, giving his team a second straight win in the  Rolex 24 at Daytona. Blomqvist's co-drivers over the two laps around the clock were Helio Castroneves, Colin Braun and Simon Pagenaud. It's a third straight Rolex win for Castroneves. 

In the LMP2 category the winner was No. 55 Oreca Proton Competition, at the stripe  by just a hundredth of a second over the No. 04 Oreca of Crowdstrike. LMP3: No. 17 Duqueine of AWA, by 11 laps. GTD Pro: No. 79 Mercedes-AMG of WeatherTech Racing, by 3.9 seconds over the No. 3 Corvette. GTD: No. 27 Aston Martin of Heart of Racing Team, by 5.3 seconds over the No. 44 Aston Martin of Magnus Racing.

Ferrari club of America is going to meet for its Annual Experience in Bend, Oregon, at the end of August. Also, many other events are being published in the regional FCA sites.

Bryan's Events List is selecting all the information and now there are a lot of auctions, F1 GP, and many Ferraris events. Some events are only in a "preliminary" version, with few details, and for sure some more will be added ... Have a look in the list, and choose the events you plan to attend!

Being the big boss of the Mercedes F1 Team means you need to give up on something. Especially if this something is connected with your huge competitor, Ferrari. Toto Wolff, the boss of Mercedes F1 has just put up for sale a F40 from his supercar collection. The F40 is the first of 27 examples produced by Maranello for the Spanish market, has covered only 5,500 km and has been fully restored by Ferrari’s classic  department, under the personal Toto Wolff supervision. 

The F40 is the last Ferrari car produced when Enzo Ferrari was still alive. The average value is now more than $2 million. The previous Wolff ownership could even increase the final price.

Washington DC Auto Show opened on Friday 20th and it is possible to visit it until Sunday 29th. It opens the Auto Shows season: on Sunday 29th in Philadelphia there will be the Auto Show, and on February 11th Chicago Auto Show will start. In Washington Auto Show there are many of the latest models, with a special focus on Electric and Hybrid, and with new "all-display" dashboards. 

Also, a lot of Supercars: Ferrari, Lamborghini and Aston Martin, with race models, historic samples, and some of latest commercial products. Toyota presents its new Prius, Jeep and Stellantis display their hybrid and electric and the new Dodge Hornet (that is the American version of new Alfa Romeo Tonale), Ford shows its new Electric Mustang, Chevrolet has many electrics cars that will go on the market next fall, Subaru (as well as Fiat 500) shows the-engine-that-is-not-an-engine under the hood.

Very interesting opportunities for a test drive (for a car, but even for an electric bicycle) ... and a nice possibility of a sample trip (in the inside track) in an electric Hyundai with its futuristic dashboard.   

Ferrari has scheduled a 3-day test session in Fiorano for the final week of January. This is repeating the formula used last year, when Charles Leclerc, Carlos Sainz and test driver Robert Shwartzman took to the private track for one day each during the month of January. 

This time, however, there will be 4 drivers in action in Fiorano, as recently confirmed reserve driver Antonio Giovinazzi will also be on duty, sharing the last day with Shwartzman, as each of them will be driving half day.

The 5th season of Netflix's “Formula 1: Drive to Survive” has been announced and will be streaming on February 24th, 2023. This follows the tradition of the show's latest season being released about a week before the next action-packed season of Formula 1 kicks in. Formula 1: Drive to Survive is a documentary produced on Netflix. It closely  follows the lives of F1 drivers and teams and spectates their  developments and the problems they face. 

It also includes personal interviews of drivers, team principals, and other essential staff of  each team. It has been a significant reason for the popularity of the sport in recent years. Each season of this series contains 10 episodes.

Michael  Andretti announced last week that his team had partnered with GM  through Cadillac to submit an expression of interest to the FIA over  becoming a new team in Formula 1, after FIA president Mohammed Ben  Sulayem invited prospective entrants to submit bids for a future place  on the grid. The Andretti’s F1 project is to create an All American F1  team, with everything “made in USA” from the management, engineering  sector to even the pilots. 

It’s not a secret the IndyCar pilot Colton Herta will be the first pick. While  Ben Sulayem said the news of the Andretti-Cadillac partnership was  “welcome”, Formula 1 itself responded to the news with a somewhat tepid  statement regarding possible future entrants to the grid, as the FIA  president’s invitation is merely the first stage. 

RM Sotheby’s is  bringing another exceptional vehicle to auction, adding to its robust  catalog. This time, on January 26th in Arizona, a 1995 Ferrari F512 M will take the stage. This Ferrari  model made its debut in 1994 and served as the last iteration of the Italian automaker’s Testarossa. The vehicle up for grabs is number 16 out of a total of 75 models created for the US market. On top of that, it is one of two examples that was completed in Canna di Fucile Metallizzato over Beige/Castro. 

Additionally, the car only has just over 14,000 miles. The car is set to fetch between $625,00 - $700,000. Specifications of the car include a 12-cylinder engine with 440 horsepower, titanium connecting rods.